


Like a Fire in the Night

by mangacrack



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Archangels are not People, Dark, Dysfunctional Family, Episode: s11e22 We Happy Few, Episode: s11e23 Alpha and Omega, Free Will, Gen, M/M, Mostly Gen, Season/Series 11, Weirdness, is an Illusion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-31
Updated: 2016-05-31
Packaged: 2018-07-11 08:39:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7041148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mangacrack/pseuds/mangacrack
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael is in no condition to fight. That's Chuck's story and he's sticking to it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like a Fire in the Night

**Author's Note:**

> I'm working through my feelings regarding the seasons finale. Warning: It might be a little weird and is rated M for dark(ish) imagery

"What about the Archangels?"

Chuck squirms. In all his holy mightiness, he squirms. The question is valid. They could help. Actually they would be a great help, but ... the answer is a lie.

 

-

 

Before his arrival hell was a cold, dark place.

Before, Hell reflected Lucifer's nature.

Now Hell is burning.

 

-

 

"Raphael and Gabriel are dead," Chuck explains. This is as true as it can get when one is talking about Archangels. "I may have brought Castiel back before but that was different. He's just one angel."

While the Archangels ... aren't. Archangels are never just one ... Even one Archangel is always more. And there are four of them. So Chuck doesn't really want to give an answer. He's glad that no one questions him further in that matter. Not even Lucifer - who knows better. But in this case Lucifer doesn't want to share the information which works fine for Chuck.

Still, truth is ... Chuck doesn't want to involve the Archangels in the fight. Not more than he has to, because facing his sister is the lesser of two evils.

 

-

 

The demons in hell are afraid. None of them admits it but the feeling of terror follows them all. They flinch at every unsuspected movement, talk in quiet voices and leave most of the political backstabbing rest for now. If asked, they would say that there're more important matters at hand. But most simply hope that the terrible, horrifying force lurking behind the thin walls of reality will catch someone else first.

So they duck their heads and are glad for every excuse to go topside.

Even fighting the Darkness is better than staying in Hell. Facing God's Sister and possible oblivion is still better than whimpering in fear every time the fire rises from the ground and swallows a soul because no matter how far you run, the screams following are carry through hell and echo in every demon's head.

It's worse than the rack during Alastair's reign.

 

-

 

Crowley isn't King of Hell because he's stupid.

Of course he noticed how Hell trembles from time to time. How Hell itself shakes and groans and flinches ... as if it's afraid and trying to defend itself against an intruder. Hell isn't a sentient being but with all the magic tossed around in it, Hell just might be alive enough to get that something is wrong.

Demons start to flee hell, seeking sanctuary on Earth.

Creatures start to dig holes and bury themselves deep to escape. Despite being mindless beasts, instinct drives them hide.

All of this is noted by Crowley but he only starts to worry the first time a hell hounds refuses his order. The hound snarls and growls at him, terrifying like the day he died and they dragged down into the pits.

With his heart beating widely against his chest, Crowley escapes the hell hound with a nasty bite and a bloody shirt.

After that he orders demons to collect the souls that belong to Hell. The Hell Hounds now obey to someone else.

 

-

 

For a long time hell was a dark place. An empty space. The long corridors of stone reflect that.

Now demons loosen their neckties whenever they can. It's getting hotter and hotter.

Sweat runs down their spines. Not just out of fear but because the air is heating up. Smoke rises through the cracks though no one knows where it's coming from.

 

-

 

Well, Crowley does.

As King of Hell it's kind of obvious when a certain part of the area is suddenly unpopulated.

At least, Crowley guess it's empty. It's not like he has gone down there to check if the deepest circle still contains life.

Last time he checked all he saw was fire.

 

-

 

Chuck isn't keen on facing his sister. Amara is strong and equal to him. She's also very angry.

Yet even that is better than sitting across Lucifer. Chuck isn't good with words. There's a reason humanity says he works in mysterious ways. Truth is if he could tell humanity what he wants without scaring them off, he would. But he can't. It's difficult to do it on his own. That why he has prophets. And Metatron. Metatron who is going to be revived first moment Chuck has need of him. Facing an eternity without his scribe is in the top ten things God Does Not Want!

Well, seeing Lucifer smug and smirking with Castiel's face still ranks above that.

"So - _Dad_ \- what do you intend to do to stop my dearest aunt?" his favourite son asks. Lucifer leans forward and his power, temporarily bound or not, shifts beneath his skin.

When he has the time for it Chuck will take a minute to marvel at Castiel's strength. Housing an Archangel shouldn't be possible!

Perhaps Castiel is more Winchester now than Chuck estimated.

"Actually," Chuck starts and squirms in his chair, human emotions governing his expression, "I hoped you could tell me if I could count on Michael helping us?"

For a moment the Morningstar blinks than he throws his head back and laughs. Loud. Long.

Chuck flinches. Of course it is that bad. It always is.

 

-

 

"Do you want to see him?" Lucifer asks, angling his head.

He's taunting his father, tempting God himself like a certain book always says. But unlike that fairytale Lucifer knows he's going to win.

God is powerful but he has his limits. Most important he's not omniscient. He cannot effect what he doesn't know, what doesn't have a connection to him. Especially when it concerns Hell. Lucifer knows how bad it its when Hell screws with your perception - of time, reality, gravity - whatever works best. While he was stuck in the cage Lucifer quickly learned to rely on second sources because Hell did its best to do it's job.

What Hell shows you might not be true but it can still feel real to you. Old known fact, because God didn't create Hell when Lucifer rebelled.  
No, Hell has always been the polar opposite of Heaven. Angels and Demons just shaped the realms to their particular views.

Those few days ruling Hell and seeing Heaven from the inside again had been every enlightening.

Lucifer smiles a bit more. God hasn't visited either of those place in a very long time. So he knows what Chuck is experiencing and takes delight in it.

There's no worse punishment than the feeling of not knowing.

 

-

 

Minutes pass and in the end Chuck is a weak man, a sad excuse of humanity.

God nods, intend on learning _what happened to Michael_ and the Devil reaches for the forehead with two of his fingers.

 

-

 

Deep down in Hell the fire spreads. The lower regions, once covered in ice, are now burning and slowly, oh so very slowly the bars of the cage start to melt.

Fire pours out of the cage. Lots and Lots of fire.  
Inside Michael is mad, angry and Hell shakes under fists hitting the iron bars over and over again.

 

-

 

Topside Chuck blinks. Even with all the power he has and Lucifer providing a connection to the cage he can't get a clear picture.

All he sees is fire. It's like he's looking into a sun. Or the core of a planet. The heat clouds even His Eyes.

Well, there's a reason Chuck doesn't like the Archangels. They have always been difficult to handle. As much as He loved Them, the Archangels are a force on their own and they probably know each other better than He does. His preference always lay with leaving matters to their creativity than looking to close at the extent of their abilities.

Because ... He didn't invent the free will. Oh yes, he might have created certain rules about interfering when humanity came around. But long before that happened he had a realization. As powerful as he is, if push came to shove there's no telling if he could take down an Archangel. Permanently.

There's a reason He created the Reapers after realizing that Archangels cannot die. Never. Not truly.

 

-

 

In the cage Michael feels the gaze of his brother brush over him. The Archangel stops moving while the fire keeps burning.

When he rises his head his eyes met Lucifer's and beyond them Michael sees another face, strange and familiar at the same time.

Rage makes Michael bare his teeth into an ugly smile before flames swallow him again.

 

-

 

On Earth Chuck jerks back, breaking the contact. It feels like as if he had been burned.

 

-

 

When asked Chuck finally says that Michael isn't a condition to fight. Outright lie but Lucifer doesn't object. Doesn't even mock Michael's supposed mental state which should be a warning sign for everyone. Thankfully everyone's mind is focused on Amara. Which means Chuck doesn't have to answer the burning question why Michael isn't going to fight.

 _I could die. Fade. Be locked away,_ God thinks. Not the best outcome yet no less then he deserves.

But at least with Amara he knows what's going to happen. His sister's anger he understands. His sister he can apologize to.

Michael on the other hand is never going to listen.

Michael is angry. Michael is fire, the explosion that created the universe. Michael is a force of nature.

Michael is ... also his eldest child. The first child ever born.

 

-

 

God raised his first child without love. God needed a weapon. A tool to carry out his orders.  
God made a mistake. One he can't take back.

Chuck, a being who lived human lives, knows this now.  
God, the Creator never did.

Chuck feels ashamed. Michael is his greatest sin.

 

-

 

Lucifer watches God lie to the Winchesters and laughs quietly. He has won his battle.

God apologized. God was wrong.

Lucifer knows that he's a vindictive being. But then ... All Archangel's all. Holding a grudge is what they're supposed to do. When you remember Creation, when you remember how you put the world together it's important to know why you chose this and not an alternative. Which means you have a lot of freedom as long as you colour within the lines.

Too bad Lucifer finally wants to draw his own.

 

-

 

In a way, it ends.

Winchester codependency saves the world and God doesn't die. Only Billie, the Reaper who know presents Death, feels the ripple through the universe and ponders what went wrong. Yet ... Dark and Light are reunited again. Difficult to say where the sense of wrongness comes from.

Billie chalks it up to Too Much Almighty Intervention in the recent days and turns back to doing her job. She couldn't care either way. Everyone dies in the end.

 _Chuck_ and _Amara_ just meet theirs, in a way. They leave.

 

-

 

The world moves on and once again assumes that the Devil no longer exists. The Winchester's hunt, protected by Castiel who keeps his silence about what he has witnessed.  
What he thinks he has witnessed. Dark and Light he has come to understand after spending so much time able to observe them. Sometimes it's good not to sit in the driver seat because at times God and his Goddess forget the existed at all.

Lucifer never did.

"Watch Castiel. One day I shall return and that I bring the truth with me. There's a lot what your brothers and sisters don't know yet. Until then make your parents proud," he says and smiles. The kindest one he has ever seen.

Castiel nods and ponders the meaning of the words.

 

-

 

Down below in Hell, Crowley finds the doors the cage broken. Yet he can't tell if it's empty.

The fire is still alive, still terrorizing Hell itself but its Creator has left.

 

-

 

Lucifer's expression is fond when he watches Michael crawl out of Hell. His minor worry that Hell or the Cage have armed his beloved brother are unfounded. It takes Michael less than half a minute to shake the ashes from his blackened wings. Now they're made of light again, blazing and beautiful.

Michael is fire. He's burning with the force of all the suns in the universe where Lucifer is just the cold light of stars on the night sky.

Violence has always been a part of their relationship but Lucifer loves Michael. Always has.  
After Michael followed him into Hell he loves him even more.

Michael made a choice.

Lucifer presses his forehead against Michael's.

"I missed you," he whispers and doesn't hide the longing in his voice.

It's been a long, long time since they were _together_ and _free_. Lucifer hopes his brethren will follow one day.

"Let us go to Heaven," Michael tells him after a while of them just enjoying the blissful moment. "Our children deserve to know the truth."

Lucifer's smile is radiant. He has won his battle against God, chased him away. Now the Angels are free.  
Or, they'll be once they realize that God isn't their Father at all.

No, God never created a single Angel. He raised them, yes. But it's always been up the Archangels to bring forth new ones.

Lucifer wonders what Castiel will say when he realizes that Michael once gave birth to him.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for making it this far. I hope you've enjoyed reading. If you have questions and/or theories, let me hear them :)
> 
>  **Edit:** Usually I don't self-promote fics, but I've written the kind-of-follow up under a different username. In case, you're interested, [check this out.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10097747)


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